As a parent, you sometimes have to keep certain things hidden from your kids because they’re not ready to handle that information. Things like financial troubles, marital problems, death of a pet – sometimes it’s easier to just make something up and shield them from the bitter truth until they’re older.

That’s exactly what these 19 parents did to their kiddos. Take a look at some of the most life-changing secrets mothers and fathers decided to keep to themselves. Makes me wonder…what did my parents hide from me?

1. Some secrets are best kept secrets…

My nephews are like my own boys, and they’re my sisters kids. She married (and divorced) their father, a psychopathic abusive man. If the boys knew just what kind of abuse their father did to them… it would kill them. They both have broken noses because of him… and it happened when they were both under 4 years old.

2. Such a kind heart

So, this is the other way around, but during my freshman year of high school, my parents were experiencing financial difficulty (piles of medical bills for my mom’s cancer, slowing business for my dad). In an attempt to save them money, I decided to use as little lunch money as possible. So, I essentially stopped eating breakfast, ate only pretzels and water for lunch, and had minimal servings for dinner. My parents clearly noticed the change in my appearance but assumed it was because of puberty. I feel like if I ever told my parents, especially my mom, it would absolutely break their hearts.

3. Explore away

My teenage football star son will occasionally put on my wife’s dresses and hang around the house. He acts like he is being funny but he does it for hours. We noticed recently that he also does it sometimes when no one is home (dresses re-arranged, not put on hangers perfectly). So he’s a masculine, studly, cross dressing football star in HS. This would destroy him if it got out. We think it’s OK and are happy to let him explore.

4. Bio mom

Something I will never tell them is that their biological mom told me that she had the second kid because she “didn’t get enough child support with only one kid”. Nor will I let them know that she hated them so much that she refused to see the kids for over 2 years. They where 1,5 and 2,5 y/o when she left. (At this point, she has been seeing them once every 2 weeks, things are going.. well.. OK-ish. They still call me mommy and call her by her name.)

5. RIP

I once killed my daughter’s hamster…she was at her grandma’s house overnight and I decided to air out her room while she was gone. I opened her window, but forgot to close it, unfortunately, this was during a Canadian winter…I replaced the hamster just in time, she never noticed, but I still feel bad about it years later.

6. hehe

My aunt accidentally filmed one of her sons continually rub his crotch and gooch area and smell it followed by digging for nose berries and feasting on them. This was all while filming her youngest son trying to master Rich Girl on the new Just Dance game complete with lyrics

7. Love is love

My youngest daughter probably isn’t mine. I love her just the same.

8. Good plan

My son has a ciliary condition that might affect his ability to have children. That’ll be bad for him when he’s old enough to want a family. I don’t dare tell him too soon (he’s only 4 now), because I don’t want him going through high school/college thinking he can’t get a girl pregnant.

9. Ha!

I know his online username, it could ruin his social life if I told it to his facebook friends.

10. Surgery is an option, if he really wants

My child was born with breasts that lactated. His is big now and always had extra fat cells there. He is really self conscious about it and I have always kept that piece of information from him. Unfortunately we live in such an appearance important culture. I try to teach him what being a quality human being is and his value is more than the superficial.